RCHS coaching jobs expected to be filled July 13

by Peter Jakey, Managing Editor

Rogers City High School (RCHS) athletic director Pat Lamb will recommend two recent alumni to take over the vacant varsity basketball jobs. Jesse Streich will be recommended for the boys? basketball job, while Emily McLean will receive the endorsement for the girls? coaching position. The hirings will not be official until the board of education votes on them at their July 13 meeting.

Streich, who was assistant varsity coach for last year?s district championship team, is a 1994 RCHS graduate and wants to bring back a level of success enjoyed in the 1990s. ?I?m looking forward to bringing some stability to the boys? program. We went to the quarters in 1992 and 1995. To watch the excitement from the kids, players and fans, I want to get our program back to that.?

Streich, who already has met with some of the athletes, wants to run an up tempo offense and to see his players box out and rebound on defense. Streich and his wife Danielle have three children and live in Belknap Township. MCLEAN CAME on board two years ago as an assistant coach and wants to bring back a measure of respectability to the girls? program as well.

?I got to see firsthand how hard the girls worked and how much they wanted to win…but they never really got the support of the community,? said McLean. ?Their hard work in practice didn’t always show in the way they played in the games and obviously their record.

?I would like to see the girls have more confidence in themselves and in the team. I will be working them ha

rd this year but we will be having fun at the same time!? McLean graduated from RCHS in 2002 and went on to excel at Ferris State University in softball.

She was asked what experiences in college sports will prepare her for a head coaching job. ?You have to be committed, dedicated and willing to do whatever it takes to succeed in something,? said McLean, ?even if that means coming in before practice or staying after practice to work on your jump shot, free throw or just a layup.? McLean was on the last RCHS girls? district championship team in 2002. She is living in Petoskey and works as a landscaper.

Both said they?ll have plenty of time to devote their coaching jobs in the winter. McLean will be moving to Rogers City when she is laid off, while Streich works in the agricultural industry.